Page 98 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2020- Online Magazine

Frank Hudson
rank Hudson was born to
Thomas and Annie Hudson
Fon February 10, 1922 in
Honey Grove, Texas; the young
family moved to Lubbock in 1924.
His father was a tinsmith and
repaired automobile radiators.
Frank graduated from Lubbock
High School in May 1941. He
distinctly remembered President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt saying
on the radio that “We are at war!”
“I couldn’t believe it,” he added.
“By early 1942, the draft was going
strong, and I was hot (to join up).
Mom and Dad had to sign for
me.” In March 1942, Frank began
attending airplane mechanic school
at Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls.
His next stop was close to Las
Vegas, Nevada, training to be an
aircraft gunner; he was there until
March 1943. Frank said, “Next, I
went to Williams Field in Mesa,
Arizona, where I was a crew chief
on two P-38s. The days were long,
and we got little rest. I joined the
Air Cadets right then and there
and went to school at Iowa State
Teachers School. I met my future
wife, Louise, at a cafe in Cedar
Falls, Iowa.”
98 Senior Link
The Last Mission of Ain't
Misbehavin'
as told to Larry A. Williams
In January 1944, Frank was Merseburg, Germany, to hit
transferred to gunnery school synthetic oil factories. Taking
in Tampa, Florida, where he heavy flak, we lost two engines
became an Engineer and Crew and headed back toward England.
Chief on a B-17 bomber. “We Then we lost another engine. Six of
moved to Drew Field, where us bailed out, but three went down
we had to get in 1000 flying with the plane. Our radio operator,
miles over water. We got way a big dude, was found by German
off course, and the Miami farmers with pitchforks; he didn’t
Airport had to guide us in have a chance. The ball turret guy,
before we ran out of fuel; we a little guy, died as his parachute
wound up flying over 1200 didn’t work right, and he hit the
miles, although we could have ground. I was the last one to bail
crashed into the ocean. Later, out, and I landed in the top of a
at Langley Field in Virginia, tall pine tree. I cut my parachute
we picked up a new B-17 and harness off and fell about 45 feet
began training, dropping to the snow below but landed on
bombs off Boca Raton, Florida. a big log and hurt my back. Two
Louise joined me, and we married of us walked all day and night,
in June 1944. Eventually, we ended even up a shallow stream to
up in England, where we shot keep the dogs off us. A German
at targets in the North Sea. We soldier spotted us sleeping under
named our plane Ain’t Misbehavin’ a tree and soon had a gun on us.
after a popular war time song. We A truck full of Luftwaffe picked
were there for only two weeks us up. They were safer than the
before our first combat mission.” civilians! We were taken by train to
Frankfurt for interrogation.”
Things got steadily tougher for
Hudson and crew. “Our third Now a prisoner of war, Frank,
mission was to drop supplies to along with other POWs, was sent
Polish Partisans in Warsaw. The to Stalag Luft IV in Poland. “The
Germans were on one side, and the Russians were too close there, so
Russians were on the other side. they sent us by boxcars to Stalag
The Germans opened up every Luft I near Barth, Germany; it took
gun they had at us. We had to us ten days. This was an officer’s
climb out fast, but Russian fighter camp, and our representative
planes escorted us to one of their camp commander was Gabby
bases. We had over 100 holes in Gabreski, a P-47 ace.” The top ace
our plane. They loaded us up with in Europe, Gabreski was credited
Russian bombs, which we dropped with shooting down 34-1/2
on Prague. The Allies were German planes. Frank continued,
preparing for an all-out assault “We didn’t get much to eat, but
over the Rhine River in Germany. we didn’t have to work. The
We were to drop pattern bombs, Russians did all the work. Things
as well as strips of tin foil which got tougher near the end of the
would throw off the German’s war. We had no food. However,
radar. We got the job done.” Mongolian soldiers (volunteers
for Russia) liberated us in April
“Our 24th mission on November 1945. They came in riding horses.
30, 1944, was long range to General Zhukov and the Russian